Deposit slot closure



May 26, 1964 R. F. GEOGHEGAN 3,134,146 DEPOSIT SLOT CLOSURE Filed July 3, 1963 K9 \\\\\\\\i\\\ \W gnaw fife rne y United States Patent 3,134,146 DEPOSIT SLOT CLOSURE Robert F. Geoghegan, 3239 Lewis Farm Road, Raleigh, N.C. Filed July 3, 1963, Sert No. 292,684 11 Claims. (Cl. 20-39) This invention relates to a device for closing a deposit slot for mail, bank deposits, packages and articles generally.

Such slots are customarily provided in walls and doors for the insertion or deposit of mail, bank deposits, films and many other items. The slots are usually intended for use during non-business hours. At other times, as when mail should not be deposited in a certain ofiice or location, or in the case of banks and building and loan associations, when deposits should be made at the counter, it is desirable to close such slots in order that they may not be inadvertently used.

It is the chief purpose of this invention to provide a closure for a deposit slot in a door, wall, or partition, which is easily positioned and removed and positively but releasably locked in place so that it is impossible at such times to insert mail, papers or articles into and through the slot.

Another object is to provide a closure as aforesaid which, when locked in place, affords a surface conspicuously visible from the deposit or outer side, and upon which, information or instructions such as office hours, mailing hours or times when the slot will be open for use, may be printed or otherwise affixed.

Another object is to provide a closure as aforesaid which when in position, completely covers and obscures the slot or deposit opening and at the same time affords a pleasing and attractive ornamentation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art, after a study of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the mail drop closure in locked position within a slot;

FIGURE 2 is a section taken in a plane identified by line 22, FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective of the closure plate assembly of FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective corresponding generally to FIGURE 1 but showing a second embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a section taken in a plane identified by line 5--5, FIGURE 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded view showing the parts before assembly, of the form depicted at FIGURES 4 and 5;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical transverse section through a third embodiment and partly broken away to show details; and

FIGURE 8 is a detail view of one of the two lock elements used in the species of FIGURES 1 and 2.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, 1 identifies a wall, door or partition having a slot 2 through which, at times, mail or other papers, deposits, articles, packages or bundles are to be deposited. A baffle generally identified at 3 consists of a flat plate of decorative or ornamental material having therein a slot 4 of vertical dimension a little less than slot 2, and fixed by any suitable means over and in general registration with slot 2 to conceal the edges thereof. A tongue 5 integral with the lower edge of slot 4, slopes upwardly and rearwardly through slot 2 to the rear side of the door and terminates in a horizontal upper edge lying in or adjacent a horizontal plane through the upper edge of slot 4. Triangular ends 6 and 7 extend be tween and are functionally integral with the respective vertical side edges of the baflle, at the sides of slot 4, and the end edges of tongue 5, and thus afford rigid support for and reinforcement of the tongue. The parts of bafile 3 thus described, including triangular end pieces 6 and 7, may be formed integrally or" hard plastic, brass or other metal. As is apparent from FIGURE 1, slot 2 has a length such that tongue 5 and its end pieces 6 and 7 may extend therethrough with a smooth fit.

The closure, generally identified at 8, FIGURE 2, includes a flat plate 9 of a size corresponding to, or a little longer than the planar outer portion of baflle 3. This plate may be of the same decorative material as baifle 3 and may have thereon printed instructions such as office hours, times when the slot will be open for deposits, and instructions as to procedure when the closure is in place.

A metal plate 10 has dimension in the direction normal to the plane of FIGURE 2 a little less than the distance between end pieces 6 and 7. The plate is bent to conform generally to the surface of bafile 3 and includes a lower portion 11 riveted as at 12 to the lower area of outer plate 9, followed by a main body portion sloping upwardly and inwardly and terminating at its upper edge in a flange 13 extending at to the main body portion. As clearly shown upon FIGURE 2, the dimensions and angles are such that the closure may normally be inserted from the outside, with plate lil lying in 'face-to-face contact with tongue 5 and flange 13 resting over and in contact with the top edge of the tongue.

Means such as a pair of stop members or buttons 14 and 15 are pivoted to door or wall 1 above slot 2, as by means of screws 16 and 17. As is clear from FIGURE 2, the dimensions and positioning of these stops are such that when in the positions of FIGURES l and 2 they are gravitationally stable and have their lower ends in contact with plate It) to thereby effectively prevent removal of the closure.

When the stop members are rotated to the dotted line positions of FIGURE 1, into contact with abutments 18 and 19, they are entirely free and clear of the closure, so that it may be withdrawn freely.

As an alternative construction, not shown, it is contemplated that buttons or looking elements 14 and 15 may, in the position shown, extend through aligned apertures in plate 10 and tongue 5 to thus securely lock the two together. In such event, flange 13 may be omitted.

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show a modification wherein the baifle plate assembly attached to the door within the slot therethrough, may be as before, so that the parts thereof have been designated by the same reference numerals as in FIGURES 1 and 2. Likewise, outer plate 9 may be a duplicate of the one shown upon FIGURES 1 and 2. Metal plate liia may be essentially the same as plate 10 of FIGURES 1 and 2; but instead of having flange 13 extending continuously along its top edge, as in the species of FIGURES l, 2 and 3, this flange is cut away at and along its central portion leaving only end portions 13a and 13b, FIGURES 4 and 6. A channel-like clasp 20, is shaped as clearly shown upon FIGURE 6, as an inverted channel over a length from one end thereof, equal to the spacing between flanges 13a and 13b. From the left end as viewed in FIGURE 6, the top and one side wall of the channel are cut away to leave the remaining wall as an integral tab 21 having a pivot aperture 22. A pivot 23 fits this aperture and another one 24 in plate 10a. Clasp 2%) is thereby mounted for pivoting about 23, from a first position wherein its channel portion has a smooth fit over and about the top edge of tongue 5, between end flanges 13a and 13b of plate 1011, as shown upon FIG- URES 4 and 5, to a second position free and clear of tongue 5, as indicated in dotted lines, FIGURE 4.

Thus when clasp 2G is in the second position above identified, the closure 3 may be freely emplaced in and removed from its effective position closing slot 2. When in position within and closing the slot, pivoting of clasp 20 to the aforesaid first position as in FIGURE 5, effectively locks the closure against removal.

FIGURE 7 discloses a further modification for holding the closure in place. As before, 1 identifies a door or wall with slot 2 therein and baffle plate 3 fixed to and overlapping the slot 2, and with tongue 5 projecting inwardly and upwardly through the slot. Closure plate 9 may be rectangular as in the species previously described and has metal plate 10c sloping upwardly and rearwardly from its lower portion 110. However, unlike the forms shown upon FIGURES 1 through 6, plate 100 has a triangular filler piece at one end. Only one of these pieces, 25, is shown upon FIGURE 7, but it will be understood that each extends from and fills the space between the corresponding end edge of the sloping portion of plate We and outer plate 9, to rigidly connect these edges with the plate. These triangular pieces are each provided with a latch 26 pivoted at 27 to filler piece 25 and having an upstanding nose 28 at its end adjacent plate 9. A spring 29 fitting within a vertical hole in the filler piece, urges latch 26 into clockwise pivoting, to the limiting position shown and determined by any suitable means, not shown. A knob 30 is fixed with the lever and forms a convenient means to depress it so that the tip of nose 28 lies below the level of the upper edge of slot 4 and the closure may thus be withdrawn.

From FIGURE 7 it is noted that nose 28 has a rounded cam edge. Thus when the closure is inserted into and through slots 4 and 2, the cam edge engages the top edge of slot 4 so that the lever 26 is thereby pivoted downwardly until, when the closure is fully emplaced, the lever, under urge of spring 29, snaps upwardly to position nose 28 behind the top edge of slot 4 in baffle plate 3. The closure is thereby firmly held against removal from slot 2. While only one lever 26 has been decsribed it will be understood that preferably there will be two, one pivoted on each of the triangular end pieces previously described, and operating in a way identical with that just described.

I have thus disclosed a device fulfilling all of the objects stated. The invention is relatively simple and readily fabricated from available materials. When locked in place the closure cannot be removed from the outside and effectively prevents the insertion of mail or other papers or objects through the slot. On the other hand, the device is easily and quickly unlocked without the use of tools; and when unlocked, is freely removable from the slot at the outside.

While I have disclosed the form of the invention presently preferred by me, numerous changes, alterations and substitutions of equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art, after a study of the foregoing disclosure. Hence the disclosure should be taken in an illustrative sense only; and it is my desire and intention to reserve all changes within the scope of the subjoined claims.

In the claims, the term partition is inclusive of doors, walls, and in fact, any object having a slot through which material, articles or objects are to be deposited at times but not at other times. The terms vertical and horizontal, etc., are for convenience only in defining the invention as it is viewed upon the drawing, and are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention to any particular position in actual use.

What I clam and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a bafile member having a deposit slot therethrough and a tongue fixed with said member and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the bottom edge of said slot, an outer removable closure plate in surface contact with, and covering said baffle member and the said slot therein and having a second plate fixed to and extending upwardly and inwardly from its lower area, said second plate lying in fiat, superposed, face-to-face contact with said tongue, and means operable to lock said second plate to said tongue in the aforesaid superposed relation.

2. In a closure for the horizontally-elongated deposit slot in and through a vertical partition, a tongue having the same longitudinal dimension as said slot and adapted to be fixed with said partition to extend upwardly through and rearwardly of said slot at an angle to the plane of said partition, a closure member including a first plate removably covering said slot, said closure member also including a second plate, said plates having their lower areas fixed together in surface-to-surface planar contact, the upper area of said second plate sloping outwardly and upwardly away from the plane of said first plate, at said angle, said second plate overlying said tongue in superposed face-to-face contact therewith, and means manually operable to releasably fix said second plate to said tongue in said superposed relation therewith.

3. The combination of claim 2, the horizontal upper edge of said second plate being flanged downwardly at substantially to the plane of its said upper area, and fitting over the upper edge of said tongue when the two are in said superposed relation, said manually operable means comprising a lock element adapted to be pivotally mounted on the partition above said slot, and pivotable from a first position engaging and holding said second plate in contact with said tongue, to a second position free and clear of said second plate.

4. The combination of claim 2, the horizontal upper edge of said second plate being flanged downwardly and rearwardly to fit over the upper free edge of said tongue when the two are in said superposed relation, said flange being cut away between its ends to define an elongated notch, and a channel-like clasp pivoted at one end to said second plate adjacent one end of said flange, and pivotable from a first position fitting said notch and closely over and about the contiguous upper edges of said second plate and tongue, to a second position free and clear of said contiguous upper edges.

5. In combination, a vertical partition having a horizontally-elongated first slot therethrough, a baffle plate secured exteriorly over said slot and having therein a second slot superposed over said first slot, and an integral planar tongue extending from the lower edge of said second slot, upwardly and rearwardly at an angle, through said first slot to terminate in an upper edge substantially horizontally coplanar with the upper edge of said second slot, and a removable closure comprising (a) an outer first plate covering said second slot and (b) a second plate, said first and second plates having their lower areas fixed together in superposed, face-to-face relation, the upper area of said second plate sloping upwardly and outwardly at said angle, away from said first plate, and lying in contacting superposed relation with said tongue.

6. The combination of claim 5, and triangular filler pieces each integral with the respective sloping ends of said tongue and said bafiie plate at the end edges of said second slot.

7. The combination of claim 6, the upper free edge of said second plate being flanged downwardly, said flange fitting over and in contact with the free upper edge of said tongue when said first plate is in said covering relation, and a pair of lock elements pivoted to said partition in horizontally spaced relation above said first slot, each said lock element being pivotable from a first position engaging and holding said second plate in its said superposed relation over said tongue, to a second position free and clear of said second plate.

8. The combination of claim 6, and a channel-like clasp pivoted at one end to said second plate adjacent one end of its free upper edge, said clasp being pivotable from a first position engaging its channel over and about the contiguous free upper edges of said tongue and second plate when the two are in said superposed relation, to a second position free and clear of said edges.

9. The combination of claim 5, said second slot having its upper edge below the corresponding edge of said first slot, to form an abutment, and a latch pivoted to said second plate for movement from a first position in engagement with said abutment when said first plate is in contacting covering relation with said second plate, to a second position free and clear of said abutment, and spring means urging said latch into its said first position to thereby lock said closure in place, said latch having a cam edge engaging an edge of said second slot to cam said latch to second position by and in response to movement of said closure into slot-closing position.

10. In a closure for a deposit slot in a partition, a baffle plate having a slot therein and an integral tongue extending outwardly and upwardly from the lower edge of said slot, and terminating in a horizontal free upper edge, and a removable closure comprising (a) a first plate overlying the front surface of said baflie plate in covering relation with the slot therein and (b) a second plate, said first and second plates having their lower areas secured together in coplanar relation, the upper area of said second plate sloping upwardly and outwardly away from said first plate to overlie said tongue in surface contact therewith, and manually operable means to releasably hold said second plate and tongue in said overlying relation.

11. In a closure for a horizontally-elongated slot in and through a vertical partition, said partition having a tongue fixed thereto along the lower edge of said slot and extending upwardly and rearwardly therethrough at an angle to the plane of said partition, said closure comprising, an outer first plate removably covering said slot and a second plate, said plates being integrally connected together over their lower areas only, the upper planar area of said second plate extending upwardly and rearwardly at said angle with respect to the plane of said first plate and covering said tongue in face-to-face contact therewith, and means manually operable to releasably secure said second plate and tongue in contact, as aforesaid.

Dedrick Dec. 17, 1889 Cutler Dec. 4, 1934 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A BAFFLE MEMBER HAVING A DEPOSIT SLOT THERETHROUGH AND A TONGUE FIXED WITH SAID MEMBER AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY FROM THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID SLOT, AN OUTER REMOVABLE CLOSURE PLATE IN SURFACE CONTACT WITH, AND COVERING SAID BAFFLE MEMBER AND THE SAID SLOT THEREIN AND HAVING A SECOND PLATE FIXED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY FROM ITS LOWER AREA, SAID SECOND PLATE LYING IN FLAT, SUPERPOSED, FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT WITH SAID TONGUE, AND MEANS OPERABLE 